Artist: Bullet For My Valentine
Title: Bullet For My Valentine
Release Date: November 5th 2021
Label: Spinefarm/Search And Destroy
Reviewer: Andrew Treadwell

Bullet For My Valentine don’t need a title for this album. They know that their legacy is enough to have it self titled and let the music do the talking. Their first album in 3 years starts with some ambience, static and then “You Fuckin’ Parasite” from Matt Tuck, which is more a missile than a bullet.

Their last album Gravity was given its fair share of criticisms for the band deviating from their signature sound (what the hell is a “signature sound”,  anyway?), and frankly, the people that had a problem with it, might just have the same problem with this album. Its all on them though, because I feel the band still retains their fire and aggression along with showing their more melodic side. But album opener “Parasite” will appease the hard core and new fans alike, as will “Knives”.

“My Reverie” brings it back a bit but delivers some brilliant grooves under Tuck’s vocally cleaner side in the verses. “No Happy Ever After” gets straight back into some ferocity. The melodic vocals paired with some cannonfire double bass drumming in the chorus is the perfect mix as well as some brilliant riffage in the breakdown.

“Can’t Escape The Waves” builds from it’s fuzzy distorted bass riff into a melodic skyscraper with Tuck’s voice cutting through the other instruments while weaving in and out. The band mentioned this next chapter of the band is “Bullet 2.0” and I think the band recording tracks separately during the pandemic would have also intensified that feeling within the Welsh foursome.

Not to discredit any of their previous albums but with tracks like “Paralysed” which tip the hat to the past on the same album as “Rainbow Veins” with its almost cinematic and spacious sounds you can see why the band see this as a platform for the future. I have read and heard people saying things like “Classic BFMV” and like the signature sound mentioned earlier I have to ask what is Classic BFMV? For me something that is classic is something you can listen to years from now and still get the same emotions as you do on the first few listens and for me this album has the hallmarks of just that. So worry about what is now, and give this album a spin, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

ABOUT BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
Since their formation in 1998, Bullet For My Valentine have become one of the biggest bands in metal, surpassing 1 BILLION streams in the US alone, selling over 3 million albums worldwide and scoring three gold albums, as well as defining British metalcore with their now classic debut, The Poison.

BFMV have been crowned Best British Band at the Kerrang! Awards three years in a row–where they’ve also been awarded for Best Single, Best Live Band and Best British Newcomer. It’s not just the press and fans that have afforded them such faith –even the heroes that inspired them in the first place, bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica, have personally selected BFMV to hit the road and share the stage with them.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE ARE:
Matt Tuck – Vocals and rhythm guitar
Michael “Padge” Paget – Lead guitar
Jamie Mathias – Bass
Jason Bowld – Drums